English UK's AGM: new trustees, new articles and consultation on a new rulebook
Our annual member conference and AGM were held in London and online on Friday 20 May 2022.
Board elections
The results of the election to the Board of Trustees were announced, with a record turnout of 45%, higher even than last year.
Returning to the board were Catrin Diamantino of Bell English, Spencer Fordham of Capital School of English, Mark Rendell of International House London and Farhan Quraishi of Speak Up London.
New trustees were Mary Doody of Kings Young Learners, Neil Harris of CELT Cardiff and Francesca Giacomini of North West Academy of English in Northern Ireland.
Jane Dancaster, Sarah Etchells and Nigel Paramor left the board at the end of their maximum term and were presented with gifts. Chair of Trustees Mark Rendell said they had been wonderful servants of English UK who had made a stunning contribution and would be greatly missed.
New Articles of Association adopted
The AGM also adopted amended Articles of Association proposed by the Governance Task & Finish Group reviewing English UK's governance. Timothy Blake, the group's chair, said the amended Articles of Association replaced the originals written in 2004 which were long, complex and full of references to the ongoing transition of two associations merging to form English UK. He said the text had been reduced by about half and simplified in places but was not significantly different to the old version.
Member consultation of the Rulebook
Timothy Blake also explained that the second and more complicated part of the governance review was the English UK Rulebook which he said was not clear enough and did not help the association to cope with issues which had recently arisen. One of these was where member centres which closed down with debts re-emerged with the same or some of the same people. Another was the level of representation and diversity on the board and other parts of the governance structure.
He said members were not being asked to comment on the amended Rulebook yet but the task and finish group are asking member centres for their feedback on a couple of specific areas: choosing the chair; and fostering diversity, inclusivity and representation.
The first phase of the memebr consultation closes on Monday 6 June 2022.
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